"I should be able to use mana control now, right?" Shyam said as he looked at his hand and then at Golakar, who was finally awake from his memory reunion phase.
"Sure, try it," Golakar replied as he raised his hands to instruct him. Shyam sat down on the floor, one leg above the other, closed his eyes gently, and took a long deep breath.
He tried to clear his mind and thought of just a leaf.
He bent his index finger just enough to touch the palm and then put the thumb on top of the middle finger. After which, he spread the rest of the fingers away from each other so that they didn't use the energy themselves.
Only a few moments later, he could feel a heavy amount of air gathering at the center of that area where his index finger and thumb had made a curvature. He tried to focus on the middle of his palm.
Calm, slow heartbeat and a breath that seemed calculated — small blue particles took shape in his palm but vanished just as quickly. It was Shyam's first-ever success. But it was only so little. He wanted to control stuff like Golakar could, but he also knew Golakar was in a much higher tier than him.
"So. How did it feel?" Golakar asked as he looked at Shyam with a smile, almost as if he had found something in Shyam's success.
"Good!" Shyam replied excitedly.
"I saw it, your element. It's Hydra, right?" Golakar asked. The particle that Shyam had just created and vanished in a few seconds — it was blue, just like water. Though it was a bit surprising that Shyam could use elements before reaching Tier 2, which was the tier for choosing which element the fighter would use for later growth.
The most popular among all were obviously water, fire, wind, and earth. But ten in a hundred people can sometimes use elements even before reaching Tier 2. That meant Shyam was not just some random adventurer.
"What? But I have been using fire all this time..." Shyam said as he shot a fireball at the fireplace. Golakar's eyes widened with more shock than an average old man could handle. By now, he might have gotten a heart attack from seeing what Shyam just did.
"Ho—how?!" he yelled.
Shyam not only had Hydra but the fire element too? And he was just a Tier 1 Sub-Stage One fighter. Right now, he shouldn't even have enough energy to perform proper dash moves yet. And the amount of power that fireball had — just unbelievable.
"How did you do that?!" he asked as he stared at the lit fireplace like it owed him money — as if that fireplace had money to return but just wasn't.
"Well..." He just did something he shouldn't have. He used his system skill in front of a person of this world with knowledge. That's like hitting your own leg with an axe. But fortunately, he had that book from which he learned the fireball. He could put all the blame on that book now!
Thinking just that, he took out the Basic Fireball Technique from his storage ring and put it on the table, saying, "I just did whatever this guide had." And that was his last hope — The Basic Fireball Guidebook by Muchi the'Olcham. Now Golakar just needed to shift his attention from him to the book, and all would be done.
"Hmm..." Golakar sighed and looked at the book. Instantly, his mouth opened wide as if he had seen a miracle.
"The legendary fire magic user's personal guidebook! How did you get this?" Golakar shouted, almost slapping his fingers on the book as if he were looking at a Toyota Trueno AE86.
Shyam never regretted his decisions more than he did today. He thought he would put all the blame on the book, but he never expected a reaction like this from Golakar.
This book must be special if even the person he thinks is the greatest is amazed by this Muchi the'Olcham. But now that he was caught, he had no choice but to speak the truth — not sure if Golakar would believe him or not, though.
"A friend gave me that back when I first started adventuring," Shyam said, scratching the back of his head.
"Really?" the old man said as he opened the first page of the book.
"Yup. Though I have no need for it anymore. You can have it if you want," Shyam said as he raised his hands in a half-T pose.
"Can I?!" Golakar said as he stared at the book. Small particles of excitement fell from his eyes — sparkles of obtaining something legendary in a video game. Though he did call the author a legendary fire magic user, so this does count as a legendary-tier artifact, right?
Shyam had already made a copy of that book in his system, so he no longer needed this physical copy. And if he could get away using it, then it's a double win. Although he might have to answer to Pallabi if they ever met again and if she demanded the return of this book... but he'd manage!
"I can't just take something like this for free," Golakar said as he brought out paper that seemed like a contract.
"I'll make you my student in return for this book. How about it?" Golakar said as he placed the paper on the table. It was indeed a contract. Shyam was a bit confused. If Golakar wanted to make him his student, why did they need a contract?
"Why do we need a contract for that?" Shyam asked. Golakar looked at Shyam with a confused face. Now both of them had confused looks on their faces — lol. Was Raitha the only normal one here? Though Golakar's confusion wore off faster than Shyam's, Golakar wins!
"Oh, yeah. The place you come from probably doesn't have schools, huh? No wonder you didn't know tiers and stuff!" Golakar said as he laughed... at his own joke again! Poor lonely guy.
"You know you're making fun of me right now, right?" Shyam said, glaring at Golakar.
"Oh yeah, sorry," Golakar replied.
"Anyway, a contract is made between a teacher and a student that states a student cannot betray a teacher without an absolute reason, and a student must obey the teacher's commands," Golakar said and tossed a small sharp knife-like thing cast with magic and enchantment.
"And what if I don't follow the contract after becoming your student?" Shyam asked. Golakar only told him the rules and not the consequences. Before making any decision, he needed to know the entire game.
"Well, depends on the situation. But don't worry — it's not death," Golakar assured.
Shyam closed his eyes, preparing another question. A question he eventually would ask. Why? As a manager of a big company, he needed a reason for the exchange. The way Golakar looked at the book and the way he offered to become his teacher... this might be a big deal.
"And what do I get by being your student?" Shyam asked.
"If you become my student, you will become an Assistant Master Teacher as well as an Assistant Pathforger. So, you won't have to take the exams for them. And you will get access to all my teachings for free!" Golakar said as he put a badge on his chest.
The badge was golden-colored, it had three stars on it, and some small text in the background saying { MASTER TEACHER }. Shyam's eyes widened with excitement. What was a Master Teacher? And what was a Pathforger? No clue — but they sound so cool!
'I would probably never meet this guy again, and I am getting to learn things along with skipping a headache-full test. Sounds like a good deal,' the thought crossed Shyam's mind as he stood still with his eyes closed.
Golakar waited. He didn't want to miss this chance of obtaining the legendary book of Basic Fireball. Although named "Basic," the technique it teaches is compatible for other element users as well. And its power is scalable according to the user's strength — how could he miss this golden opportunity to get this thing?
He just hoped Shyam would agree to it. Though he did say he could have it, his three-star Master Teacher morals couldn't let him take something like this for free.
He wanted to give Shyam something in return. And what is more valuable for a person of this world than an Assistant Master Teacher title in a place which still uses golden, silver, & copper coins as currency?
Shyam opened his eyes. Golakar's eyes shone with excitement, and then Shyam's lips moved.
"Sure."
The moment Shyam said it, the sharp thing sliced just a small cut in his finger and tossed a small drop of blood on the contract paper.
As the blood touched the paper, the paper lit up with blue light and started floating, and suddenly with a ting sound, it disappeared. And a system window popped up saying:
[ Teacher / Student Contract has been made ]
Shyam suddenly felt lighter now, as if he was different from anyone else in this entire world. He wasn't an ordinary person anymore. He felt like he now had responsibilities he himself would have to explore. And until then, he had to obey by those laws — unknowingly.
---
Ch-28